Sustainable Purchasing for NSW Councils
BACKGROUND BRIEFING PAPER
The benefits
Around the world municipal government is harnessing purchasing power to achieve better
environmental and social outcomes. In NSW, the local government sector spends approximately $5
billion per year buying products and services. This represents a powerful force to help drive technical
innovation and improved efficiency.
Purchasing sustainable products and services helps councils meet their obligations under section 8 of
the Local Government Act – “to properly manage, develop, protect, restore, enhance and conserve the
environment of the area for which it is responsible, in a manner that is consistent with and promotes the
principles of ecologically sustainable development (ESD)”. Sustainable Purchasing also helps councils to
achieve triple bottom line objectives, delivering better environmental, social and economic outcomes.
Sustainable purchasing can;
 improve efficiency and reduce waste
 save money
 stimulate markets for material collected through council’s kerbside collection
 demonstrate leadership to the community and stakeholders
 support local communities and businesses
 deliver statutory and community services obligations
 help achieve long term social and environmental objectives.
Sustainable products
All products have some level of environmental and social impact. This may occur at any or all stages of a
product’s life cycle – raw material acquisition, manufacture, distribution, transport, use and disposal. By
making informed purchasing decisions, council can dramatically reduce water and energy consumption,
and the amount of pollution, waste and greenhouse gas emissions generated. In many cases long term
cost savings are also possible. Sustainable products are those that;
 contain recycled content

are reused or recycled at end of life

reduce greenhouse gas emissions

save water and/or energy

are non toxic

help protect biodiversity and habitat

are made or recycled locally

minimise unnecessary purchasing

provide long term value for money.
Sustainable Choice Program
The Local Government and Shires Associations, in partnership with the Department of Environment and
Conservation NSW (DEC) has established a new sustainable purchasing program for local government
called Sustainable Choice.
The program evolved from the Local Government Buy Recycled Alliance (LGBRA) and will expand beyond
the previous emphasis on recycled products.
The Sustainable Choice program will build sustainable purchasing capacity within local government
through staff peer education and information sharing. Workshops and seminars will be held for
participating council staff, along with providing information on specific products and services. Case
studies will showcase successful purchasing initiatives happening in councils, and a free web based
data base of sustainable products will be available to help council staff locate sustainable products and
services.
Supporting councils at all levels
Most councils are already practising some level of sustainable purchasing and some are already quite
advanced.
For example, Byron Shire and Mosman Councils have installed water treatment systems using 100%
recycled plastic pipes, while Newcastle City, Gosford City and Leichhardt Councils are experimenting
with alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles to improve fleet management. North Sydney Council has run a
staff competition between departments for the best green purchasing initiative.
Some councils have developed green purchasing polices, while others have integrated green clauses
into their purchasing policy. Different approaches work for different councils. This is the key to the
Sustainable Choice program – providing individual support tailored to the specific needs of individual
member councils.
New technologies and innovations in the market mean there are always opportunities to improve
performance and reduce costs.
Every organisation has to start somewhere and regardless of how advanced your council is on the
sustainable purchasing path, the important thing to remember is that very significant gains can be
made through a series of small steps.
What’s involved?
Joining the Sustainable Choice program involves the following;

Written acceptance of the LGSA’s invitation to join the program.

A council resolution (draft provided) re-affirming council’s support for sustainable purchasing and
committing council to participate in the Sustainable Choice program.

Establish a team within council to drive the process.

Incorporation of sustainable purchasing principles into council’s purchasing policies and systems
(your council may already have these in place).

Participation in free staff peer education and information sharing between councils (through
newsletters, workshops, seminars, etc.) organised by Sustainable Choice, to facilitate increased
awareness of the benefits of sustainable purchasing.

Participation in the Sustainable Choice annual reporting survey that will ascertain the scope and
level of sustainable purchasing across the NSW local government sector.
The objective of the Sustainable Choice program is not to create a new set of milestones and onerous
reporting obligations, but rather to build upon what councils are already doing by facilitating increased
levels of sustainable purchasing through information sharing and capacity building, and to integrate
sustainable purchasing into councils existing policies and systems.
Sustainable purchasing is an effective mechanism to help councils deliver other programs and activities
such as energy and water saving plans, greenhouse and waste reduction strategies and community
service and environmental obligations.
The Associations and DEC look forward to your council’s involvement in Sustainable Choice.
For more information on the Sustainable Choice Program please contact:
Mr Seb Crawford
Project Manager
Ph: 9242 4053
Mobile: 0437 303 244
Email: seb.crawford@lgsa.org.au
www.lgsa-plus.net.au/SustainableChoice